quote:

Originally posted by LiGHT78 Liebing came twice last year....to Aria and to Swirl, so that was good. And I guess Liebing and Preach are really the only big techno names that would unquestionably fill a venue in Montreal. Like you said, Speedy J, Marco Carola, Dave Clarke, recently came to Toronto, but would these names really fill a club like Aria? If DJ Rush could barely fill up Club Soda, I highly doubt it...

That's part of the problem though... you only book a handful of names a year.. and some of them twice, it's no wonder people have never heard of Speedy J. The issue is a lot more complicated, I realize Aria is a business... but the root of my argument is they have seemingly given up on even try to build a buzz around certain names, it's like they are a venue for events, but not really 'promoters' of the music.

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dont tell me you need to grow up to listen to house!! techno is not music for kids at all, this is a real myth! we play here in europe in full arenas and clubs for people between 18 and 35years old.

we've been hearing progressive house for ages now, its not because im 26 now that i want to listen to 125bpm windy beats and repetitive tribal percussions when i go out... so boring!

its a matter of culture, people in montreal go to clubs for house and hiphop. in big parties you will never see people complaining about techno, they actually love it!! things just changed in montreal and now not so many ambitious techno minds are pushing hard to make it popular again. techno has changed alot in the last years to be more and more adapted to clubber's tast. techno is not dead in montreal (see by yourself balenblanc last 2 years) but its not going to happen much in clubs!!

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Relic Recordings: www.relic-rec.com
DJ Preach: www.djpreach.com

quote:

Originally posted by Kate Manus That's part of the problem though... you only book a handful of names a year.. and some of them twice, it's no wonder people have never heard of Speedy J. The issue is a lot more complicated, I realize Aria is a business... but the root of my argument is they have seemingly given up on even try to build a buzz around certain names, it's like they are a venue for events, but not really 'promoters' of the music.

amybe because people dont go for the music anymore... just for the venue

how many times do we get asked... are you goin to play tiesto or benny benassi ?...


not only younger kids.. but older people ask for that kinda music

people complaining about the fact that ARIA is too dark ?!? wasnt sona the darkest place on earth not too long ago and had the best ''vibe''... probably one of the dirtiest and darkest place in montreal, but still...

there are WAY too many clubs in mtl

people from south shore, laval, north shore, quebec, trois-rivieres, granby, sherbrooke and every city surrounding montreal were coming to mtl to party... now theres afterhours in every little town, and theres too many downtown

so you split the clientele in 10 pieces and you try to play the music that drgas the most

need more explanations ?

not even talking about how much these guys charge.... completely ridiculous

It's true....Aria's gotta do what it's gotta do to attract the people, and that's it...There are far too little people keeping track of the DJ talent you guys are bringing, and far too many going to spend 10$ and pop some pills.

People come to the booth and ask you to play Tiesto and Benassi? That's just sad. But I guess it goes with the fact that I know some people who were more excited to wave glowsticks around like idiots last Friday than to hear Markus Schulz.

The techno DJ's that have come to Toronto are all playing smaller venues then Guv and such which I think is a good start. It does pack the club so maybe Martin is right in saying clubs like Soda are good for these bookings. In order to get the techno back to Montreal you may have to start out small and work your way up. I think that probably over the years of people listening to music their tastes may have changed which is why clubs like Aria aren't filled anymore. (which yes, is disappointing) Even last year the turn in October when I drove to Mtl for Preach, I was completely disappointed by the size of the crowd for this event. Although it was still a good turnout and I had LOTS of room to dance which is always my main complaint; it just wasn't as busy as I thought or even expected it should be!

I think if you have the right promoters out there and the right clubs working on bringing techno back that it could work out and you may see bigger results in the future. Europe has a bigger following in techno for sure. I think a majority of the people living there either follow progressive or techno, which is why artists do so well over there ie: Preach and which is why we will never be able to see some of the DJ's that play in Europe ever play here.

I can completely understand the frustration some may have though especially if your love for techno is that big and consistantly the only DJ's spinning at any of the events are house/progressive/trance DJ's, I would be frustrated too. But I guess we have to be thankful that we are getting to see any of these DJ's at all. I know Toronto has been pretty fortunate with some good bookings. Hopefully Montreal can get a smaller club started on regular bookings as well and see how that goes. It is better then nothing.

Kate, I think they may need you to help with promotions girl
It is always worth a shot!

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how can Aria (or any other club) proprely promote techno when their promoters know nothing about the music??? and its even harder to recruit new ones to promote it...

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Its not just eastern canada.

It is all of canada. The west is just as bad if not worse than you guys got it.

At LEAST you get mauro picotto and libering.. we dont even get that anymore.

In fact i would say north america hardly has a techno scene. I hardly see any of the guys doing tours and its mostly the big cities if they do or part of a huge festival like the WMC.

This is not an attack on the genre of any kind as i like some stuff to.

But it is just not a appealing form of electronic such as house or trance. It never has and never will be.

Louis naturally you are going to have this position on the matter and that is understandable. Competition is obviously stiff and I don’t think there is anyone denying that.

I’m not trying to bash Aria… I have had many great nights there and it is my favourite venue in Canada to see techno djs… or any dj for that matter. My comment about ‘dark dingy drug hole’ aren’t words coming out of my mouth, but others I have spoken to, usually when I am trying to recruit them to come out for one of the few techno nights going on these days.

Preach made a valid point that there just aren’t enough ambitious people willing to promote techno in this city and I believe that to be the case as well. I know it was hard for Martin booking Rush for an exclusive gig, but it doesn’t have to be someone quite of his stature to at least try to help promote the music here… Rush is in a league with only a handful of techno djs.. most don’t even make half his fee.

Jenn: I have long considered this and I am willing to do my part but I can’t do it alone, both from a promotion standpoint and financially. I have been in talks with several European techno agents about a wide range of quality djs, anyone from Hertz to Steve Rachmad to the Space Djz, but at this stage it would take other bookings in these parts to even be able to realistically consider it (which I am currently lobbying for). I can’t say for sure but I would like to be able to help put on at least one smaller party by the end of the year, so we shall see!

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my site featuring news, interviews, techno events...
www.katemanus.net

I think Aria not booking international techno headliners is not the problem, it's a symptom of a much bigger problem.

The better question to be asking here is: why do people not come out like they used to for techno?

Aria's job isn't to promote a certain sound. And even still, they appeared to do that for a long time...they spent a lot of coin on techno headliners from around the world. It was fantastic and I made the trip from TO many many times for those nights. However - did anyone actually think it was sustainable? I didn't...

We can all agree that people who run nightclubs or throw parties because they love all the music they sponsor put on better events than those who do it for the money. and it would be great if every promoter and club owner operated with only one thing in their mind and heart: music. That's just not realistic though.

Kate you're not the only one who is disappointed, but Aria is not the sole entity responsible for the state of techno in a given city. They are simply reacting to the fact that the market just isn't there anymore - and it is not their job to re-create it. In fact...I think it's kind of odd that you wonder about where the techno scene went, when you yourself are planning to leave Montreal because it is so stagnant.

all i can say that im sure of

when u put too much of something, one day itll go off

i was at aria every week, sometimes twice a week in 2004

had great times

but when the same names are repeated 3 times in a month, u cant do anything about it, people get bored of it

no matter if its techno or minimal happy hardcore prog tribal

i personnaly got to like more electro and house

but the only major event ive been this year is Mauro Picotto

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you peeps move to europe with me

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Relic Recordings: www.relic-rec.com
DJ Preach: www.djpreach.com

quote:

Originally posted by Skipper but Aria is not the sole entity responsible for the state of techno in a given city. They are simply reacting to the fact that the market just isn't there anymore - and it is not their job to re-create it. In fact...I think it's kind of odd that you wonder about where the techno scene went, when you yourself are planning to leave Montreal because it is so stagnant.

but Aria is not the sole entity responsible for the state of techno in a given COUNTRY....

whos doin techno bookings in montreal ? no one... and with that non-smoking thing in clubs coming... techno / house / any style of music will go down headliner-wise... believe me